It’s official, Google has purchased Waze

Waze, a social network based, mobile navigational app system has been garnering quite a bit of attention from suitors such as Facebook, Apple and Google. For some time, it was reported that Facebook was in serious negotiations to purchase it. Facebook’s enormous social networking capabilities coupled with Waze’s interactive navigational app could have squeezed Google’s lead in the mapping business, seriously harming its “Streetmap” app, into which it has invested quite a bit of money. Ultimately, though, Facebook’s purchase offer, plus its demand that Waze move from Israel, made Google the preferred partner and the deal was finalized.

Waze sealed a very good deal with Google. About $1 billion will be paid in cash, not stock, available immediately to the founders, investors and employees.

The Waze family

Waze is the dream of Ehud Shabtai, a software engineer and graduate of Tel Aviv University. The idea came to him that while drivers certainly benefit from GPS-generated navigational tools, the information received was static and not up-to-date with current developments on the ground. Together with co-founders Amir & Gili Shinar, Uri Levine and Arie Gillon, Shabtai took his concept of real-time, interactive navigational information and grew it into a unique app that is used by more than 50 million drivers in more than 100 countries.

The Waze technology

Today, just about everyone has a smart-phone. Waze is a free app that can be used on iPhone and Adroid devices. It is unique in that its users do not just download static, satellite generated navigation information, but they upload the most current road information, even gas prices and speed traps. Waze engineers, using satellite signals from users’ smart-phones, generate the most accurate maps and traffic information possible. Waze is the wave of the future in mobile mapping.